Perhaps, but Honda is the manufacturer, and Accord is the product, whereas "nano" is merely a modifier of "iPod." The term "Honda" isn't actually part of the name of an Accord anymore than "Apple" is part of the name of the iPod. I think it's a slightly different situation. Interesting point, though.

Perhaps, but Honda is the manufacturer, and Accord is the product, whereas "nano" is merely a modifier of "iPod." The term "Honda" isn't actually part of the name of an Accord anymore than "Apple" is part of the name of the iPod. I think it's a slightly different situation. Interesting point, though.

The more interesting thing tomorrow is that Mockingbird should finally be unmasked in Villians United. No clue who that is, but I'm sure they're quite tied into the overall plot.

Okay, I'm a bit confused, but either way

Spoiler for Hiden:

It seems as if Lex Luthor from pre-Crisis Earth-1 has survived into the post-Crisis universe! Between that and the triumphant return of Superman from Earth-2, I'm surprisingly giddy about all the IC stuff that came out this week. Whether it's going to be good or not, IC is sure off to an exciting start!

The nano is all about size, weight and having no moving parts. Jogging with a hard drive iPod is not a smart thing to do -- its be easiest way to destroy your iPod. The nano, however, is perfect for jogging. It's lighter, smaller and has no moving parts whatsoever. Making things smaller makes them more expensive, in many cases. There's always been a large gap regarding storage between the mini/nano iPods and the regular iPods, but both sell very well because they're aimed at different audiences.

The new iPod is interesting... and they finally have a "low end" real iPod that's hit my next size point -- double my current 15GB model. I'm not quite out of space on my current iPod yet, but when the time comes, I'm totally gonna get one of these fifth generation models.

The video support is cool, but its presently a very tentative step. The files are in very low resolution, so they won't look great if blown up to, say, fill a TV screen. However, if the distribution channel works, then the only question regarding improving the resolution will be bandwidth issues.

I think that the new iMac G5 -- which includes software called Front Row that provides a 30-ft interface to iTunes, iPhoto, DVD Player and QuickTime -- is far more interesting. It's a TV-tuner away from being a true Apple Media Center. Take Front Row, spruce it up, and add it and TV-in and -out capability to a Mac Mini, and you've got Macs in the living room.

I'm an information horder. I have most of the computer files I've created since 1993, I've got an archive of every AIM chat I've had since mid-2003, etc, etc, etc.

That creeps me the hell out. Remind me never to chat on IM with you. I don't want people keeping records of the random shit I say when Im bored and joking around on IM. This is how future political careers are destroyed. Bad business if you ask me.

Ironically, part of why I do it is because I'm in politics. It's often important to be able to have some sort of verifiable evidence of things people say or claim.

I loved this movie, absolutely loved it -- for lots of the reasons some people didn't like it. However...

It's not going to do well at the box office. Look, when Firefly was on TV it rarely managed more than around 3 million viewers. Even if all three million or so (let's say that only some of that is overlap, and that about 5 million folks watched the show) go see the movie, at $8 a ticket, that's only $24 to $40 million. Factor in that a lot of people who watched the show won't go see the movie, and that some folks who didn't will, and I don't think that it's going to even break $40 million.

And it certainly won't see its week over week box office increase. It made over $10 million its first weekend? Okay, that's about enough box office to account for almost all of the folks who bought the DVDs (the rabid fans like us) and some new folks. Most of the core audience has already seen the film and its a tough sell to newcomers.

We got a good movie out of the show, and that's enough for me. I don't expect it to be a "hit" movie, and I don't expect a sequel.

I have thousands of back email messages, going back to 1998, in various formats -- Outlook Express databases, PST files, Microsoft Entourage databases, and now most of it in my Apple Mail database. I archive into folders all mail from friends, business associates, organizations I'm a member of, etc. I delete spam and general announcements.

I'm an information horder. I have most of the computer files I've created since 1993, I've got an archive of every AIM chat I've had since mid-2003, etc, etc, etc.

My problem with this... Darwin's Theory of Evolution, is just that, a Theory at this point as it has not been proven.

As has been pointed out, you're not using the scientific definition of the term "theory." A Theory in science is a way of structuring all available data (facts) into a coherent whole. A theory is not a guess. It is not a "fact" because it's something different than a fact -- it's a way of analyzing and accounting for all available facts.

When people speak of the Theory of Evolution, they are discussing the scientific framework which accounts for and processes EVERY available, confirmed piece of data on the matter of biological development.

Evolution is a "theory," but it is also unquestionably true and its data is factual. It happens. We KNOW it happens. The "theory" part is we're investigating how it happens and what drives it.

I was worried you might get caught in the terrible new bankruptcy law when we talked about this a few weeks ago. I had thought it went into effect in January, though. You know you've got my support and that I'd do whatever I can. Not that there's anything I can do.

The health insurance system in this country is deeply broken. The number of insured continues to fall, the costs of insurance continue to rise, and the coverage provided continues to recede. There's absolutely no reason it has to be this way.

Okay, some dipshit at ABC listed the bullshit, boring, idiotic, worthless "recap" at 7:00 CDT as "Lost." Seeing it listed at 7:00, my Tivo dutifully recorded it. Since I set Lost to record 3 minutes into the next hour, Tivo doesn't record anything at 8:00. So I have no series premiere.

Fuck ABC and their bullshit "recap." Networks seem to exist to make it harder to watch the shows I want to watch.

JLA was a big issue this week, as noted above. The fraying relations between the major heroes is handled quite well. I hated seeing that stupid new Supergirl (here's hoping she dies in Crisis... yeah, I know, won't happen), but Zatanna's actions were very interesting.

I loved seeing Dr. Light II and Dr. Light I duke it out in Green Arrow. The creation of Dr. Light II was a major point in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Over in JSA Classified (which I Byrne-Stole), Psycho Pirate himself has returned. A few months ago, Harbinger was in Superman/Batman, and last week both Lady Quark and Pariah (!) were in Villains United. Aside from Alexander Luthor of Earth-3, that's pretty much the whole cast of characters to be created for and survive Infinite Earths. Things are definitely converging here!

I'm really enjoying the "unified" feel of the DCU as this story approaches. Seeing similar themes, recurring characters and references to the same moral dilemmas cropping up in books across the company really lends aa air of authenticity to the universe.

Some big questions remaining before INFINITE CRISIS arrives: who is Mockingbird (Alexander Luthor? The Monitor?)? Will the JLA dissolve just as the DCU's villains are uniting? And, of course, which Flash will they kill this time? :-)

The DC Insider column at the back of the books spoiled a bit of the set up for the first issue of INFINITE CRISIS, basically letting the astute reader know the endings of all four of the lead-in miniseries. Regardless, I'm looking forward to these final issues, and I'm counting the days until INFINITE CRISIS arrives.

And what's really nice is that this IC lead in has been so cool, it's almost totally distracted me from the fact that All-Star Batman & Robin is basically crap.

The nano is pretty cool, but I'm waiting for an update to the regular iPod. The low end model is currently 20 GB. I have a 15GB Gen 3 iPod, which is about 85% full. Once the low end iPod hits 30 GB, I'm buying one.

If the price comes down a bit, in a couple years I could see myself replacing my iPod Shuffle with an iPod Nano.

Are you sure, Mitch? I would have sworn it was a childhood encounter with mosquito spraying that did that to your face. :-)

I'm down in Houston right now, for a job interview tomorrow. The hotel is full of refugees. When I got off the elevator, there was a girl sitting in the chairs opposite, writing in a pad. She got out of NO with her boyfriend and his family, but has no idea where her parents are.

Even those who haven't been killed... how long will it take for people to reconnect?

Fireball - Keep us posted on how things are going since you may have a better grasp on what's going on in the way of help for these people. Thanks!

By far the best way to help is to give money either to the American Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/) or to the local food banks in the areas where refugees are being taken. They're being inundated with "stuff," but what is needed is good, old-fashioned, imminently flexible cash.

Of course, I say this, yet my Dallas Young Democrats are going to do a toy drive for the kids in Reunion Arena. Oh well. :-)

I had friends in Manhattan on Sept. 11. It took almost a week before they could get phone calls in and out (they lived in SoHo). I suspect it'll be even worse in the damaged areas from Katrina.

As most folks know, I work for the Democratic Party, and we're being swamped both with people looking for ways to help get funds to Louisiana, and with folks trying to get a grip on how to best help the refugees being brought here to Dallas. This whole situation is overwhelming on so many levels.

It's not the economy, it's the budget that's at fault. Bush cut taxes way too much, and has raised spending way too quickly, thus resulting in staggering deficits. The man has never vetoed so much as one spending bill from Congress, even the pork-laden energy and transportation bills passed last month. Fiscal discipline simply isn't in his nature, apparently.

Jabber support is present in iChat 1.x in Panther. Just follow their instructions, and it should work. And I'm pretty sure that the next time we have dinner (still need to see the Aristocrats) that my Tiger DVD might accidently come along for the ride. :-)

I tend to tip very well when service is good, upwards of 20%, which is my normal baseline (for ease of math as much as anything else). I tipped 50% last week at lunch with the Texas delegation to the Young Democrats of America convention. One poor waitress, 42 Texans, 90 minutes to get in and out. There were some snafus, but I thought she did a stellar job.

So it rolled out to the Apple Stores today? That's pretty cool. And this thing didn't leak, either. Not bad.

I'm a huge fan of my Kensington Studio Mouse, so I don't need this new Apple Mouse. but if my next Mac comes with one, I'll definitely give it a look. I'm a big, big fan of most everything Apple designs.

ME was a disaster on my system. I paid $50 to have my printer and scanner stop working. My printer eventually got updated to working status. I wasn't willing to shell out bucks for a new scanner driver. Now, the steps ME took towards unifying the driver model and integrating the Windows 2000 shell were good steps. It's just that ME was never supposed to be released (it was thrown together because a home edition of Windows 2000 died in the womb), and it really showed. Rough edges abound.

Okay, let's say (of course, totally hypothetically) that I'm starting my own personal business and I'm buying some stationery. And let's say that a letter I write goes for more than one page... what do I print the second page on? Do I print it on the same full letterhead (with name, logo, address, phone, email, web, slogan, etc, on it) or do I use a more simplified letterhead for the second and subsequent pages?

So, they will fast forward to the time after Superman's "For Tomorrow"? since that was set one year ahead as well (one of the reasons people thought Kyle Rayner was going to survive Hal Jordan coming back and the end of his series).

Hopefully they won't even mention "For Tomorrow." That story was just absolute garbage.